Courting the Yankees

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Roger Kahn

This joyful memoir of sports and sportswriting - of a time when the writers and the players would spend their days laughing on the road together and their nights drinking in bars together, without a press agent in sight - brings to life the years when baseball was not only the national pastime, but established itself as a symbol of masculinity and grace in America.

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Stephen R. Lowe

"This study provides the first comprehensive examination of the relationship between Congress and professional sports. It is not merely a catalog of all the hearings, investigations, and bills introduced to Congress in the twentieth century; rather, the work is a concise, interpretive narrative of Congress's involvement in the professional sports world. Testimony is included from such colorful figures as Ty Cobb, Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller, Casey Stengel, Charles Finley, Pete Rozelle, Don Shula, Jack Dempsey, Jersey Joe Walcott, Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Don King, and Rick Barry. Leading members of Congress, such as Emanuel Celler, Kenneth Keating, and Jack Kemp of New York, Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Philip Hart of Michigan, Everett Dirksen of Illinois, Sam Ervin of North Carolina, and Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio, are also important to the story. It is, however a story that scholars have written about only on the periphery and of which most sports fans know little."--Jacket.

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Jorge Posada

The legendary New York Yankee catcher tells the incredible story of his personal journey, offering an unexpected, behind-the-plate view of his career, his past, and the father-son bond that fueled his love of the game.

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John Eisenberg

"The fascinating story of baseball's most legendary "Iron Men," Cal Ripken Jr. and Lou Gehrig, who each achieved the coveted and sometimes confounding record of most consecutive games played. When Cal Ripken Jr. began his career with the Baltimore Orioles at age twenty-one, he had no idea he'd beat the historic record of playing 2,130 games in a row set by Lou Gehrig, the fabled "Iron Horse" of the New York Yankees. When Ripken beat that record by 502 games, the baseball world was floored. Few feats in sports history have generated more acclaim. But the record spawns an array of questions. Was his streak or Gehrig's the more difficult achievement? Who owned the record before Gehrig? When did someone first think it was a good idea to play in so many games without taking a day off? Through probing research, meticulous analysis, and colorful parallel storytelling, The Streak delves into this impressive but controversial milestone, unraveling Gehrig's at times unwitting pursuit of that goal and Ripken's fierce determination to play the game his way. Along the way Eisenberg dives deep into the history of the record and offers a portrait of the pastime in different eras, going back more than a century. The question looms: Was it harder for Ripken or Gehrig to play every day for so long? The length of seasons, the number of teams in the major leagues, the inclusion of non-white players, travel, technology, and even media are all part of the equation. Larger than all of this, however, is a book that captures the deeply American appreciation--as seen in the sport itself--for that workaday mentality and that desire to be there for the game they love, the job they are paid to do"-- When Cal Ripken Jr. began his career with the Baltimore Orioles he had no idea he'd beat the historic record of playing 2,130 games in a row set by Lou Gehrig, the fabled "Iron Horse" of the New York Yankees. When Ripken beat that record by 502 games, the baseball world was floored. Through probing research, meticulous analysis, and colorful parallel storytelling, Eisenberg unravels Gehrig's at times unwitting pursuit of that goal and Ripken's fierce determination to play the game his way.